Pizza Crusts and Sidewalk Cracks
by Maven Alazais
Summary: Velma and Shaggy, as a couple, have a double date with Daphne and Fred in Venice. An earthquake spoils the evening's end and Shaggy finds himself with many doubts of his quality as a boyfriend. Velma makes sure they never come back again, though. Light-hearted Shelma oneshot with hints of Fred/Daphne, Bday gift for ArashiWolfPrincess. Enjoy!


***Hello, dears! This is a Velma/Shaggy with hints of Fred/Daphne one-shot, a gift for Arashi Wolf Princess, requested from Vampygurl402. Wish all people had friends like these!**

**So, this is just a drabble I came up with for Velma and Shaggy, just to have some fun with them. It has no mystery plot involved, so just…enjoy this laid-back story. Thanks for reading and if you feel like it, leave me a small review!**

**PS. Happy birthday, Arashi Wolf Princess, and thank you, Vampygurl402 for trusting me with your friend's present!**

**PS.2.: If you'd like to see a story on how Shaggy and Velma got together, take a look at my 'Over Ancient Greek and Medicine Manuals' story, although it's not necessary, I won't be dropping anything related to that here. **

**Happy reading!***

**PIZZA CRUSTS AND SIDEWALK CRACKS**

"Come on, Shaggy, there's no need for you to be so…formal." Velma said, from in front of the hotel mirror, trying to decide how to have her hair.

She still wasn't sure if the trip to Venice was such a good idea, but she tried to focus on the positive things; the city was as beautiful as ever and it was, after all, a well-earned weekend get-away with her boyfriend and friends. Daphne had proposed a double-date outing which Fred was quick to support, but Velma and Shaggy were a bit reluctant in accepting it. It wasn't that they were secretive about their relationship, quite the contrary; it was just that they didn't know how Daphne and Fred would 'treat' them in an outing like a double date. They were their friends, however, and so they accepted their invitation, hoping it wouldn't be too awkward.

When they were all together, travelling the world and solving mysteries, there was no need for either of the couples to act cheesy. If anyone saw them, he would just suppose they were all friends between them, and they all liked it being so. A double date, though, was a whole different thing. Velma could only hope Daphne wouldn't act too clingy and Fred too prince-y and crossed her fingers for a pleasant evening.

"But, Velma," Shaggy said, scanning his travel bag, "it's, like, an official date, it has to be, like, classy!"

"It's a couple's outing with our best friends. Relax. You're almost sweating over it."

"This town's too humid, that's all…"

"It'd be worrying if it weren't."

"Right, right. So, which one?" Shaggy asked and Velma turned to look at him.

He was in a pair of dark pine green trousers and a loose white button-down shirt, with elbow-length sleeves. He was holding two ties up; a red-with-sky-blue-dots on the left and a yellow-with-pink-stars on the right.

Velma pushed her glasses up her nose and folded her hands over her chest. "The middle one."

Shaggy looked at the ties in confusion. "But there's no middle one."

"Exactly. You won't wear a tie."

"It's a bit, like, too much, uh?"

"Yes…"

Shaggy shrugged and placed them back in his bag. He looked at her from head-to-toe and grinned. "You're very pretty."

"Aw, stop it you…" Velma mumbled, not knowing why even after all these months of being a couple, she still blushed at his compliments. She averted her look to the mirror; her denim skirt was middle-thigh long and matched her ecru lacy top. She didn't accessorize much, as always, and decided to let her hair down. It had gotten somewhat longer, but she liked it. Two brushings-of-hair later, she was ready. She nodded at Shaggy and he headed to the balcony.

"Ready, pal?" Shaggy told Scooby, sitting by a metal chair of the small hotel balcony.

"Ror rwhat?"

"For the double date, of course."

"RI'm coming?!"

"Of course, Scoobs! You didn't think we'd, like, leave you behind, did you?"

"But rit's a rdate!"

"Nonsense! Come on, now, we're going to a fancy Italian restaurant!"

Scooby's eyes shone brightly and he was soon walking happily by their side, in front of the hotel. Daphne and Fred were traditionally a bit late, so they took some photos before, at last, their friends joined them. Daphne was in a fitted and short pink dress, with Fred wearing a pair of jeans, a white polo shirt and a navy blue suit jacket. To complete the outfit, he wore a short foulard around his neck, like he always did, in the same color as Daphne's dress.

"Are we ready to go, then?" Daphne asked.

"We've been ready a quarter ago." Velma said and Daphne rolled her eyes before Fred started walking in front, showing them the way to the 'trattoria'.

"You still didn't put on some make-up like I showed you…" Daphne whined by Velma's side.

"Why would I? I don't need it and no one notices."

"The guys notice, it makes you so much more attractive."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"Hold on, then." Velma said, arching an eyebrow. "Shaggy!" She called and Shaggy, walking by Fred's side, turned his head behind.

"What is it?"

"Do you like my make-up tonight?"

"It's fantastic! Your eyes really, like, pop!"

"Thank you!" She said and he turned in front again. "See?" She told Daphne. "Whether I'm wearing make-up or not, it's exactly the same."

"Shaggy's a special case." Daphne shrugged.

"_My _special case and that's all that matters."

"Oh, well. If you're happy, I suppose, the rest are just minor details."

"Exactly. Are you happy with Fred?"

"Of course, are you kidding me? I wouldn't have stayed with him for two years if I wasn't."

"Right."

"Here's the place, ladies." Fred said, when they caught up with the guys. A bright sign on a typical Venetian house wrote 'Giancarlo's Italian Restaurant'. "I heard it's one of the best in town."

"Let's go then!" Shaggy said, rubbing his hands together. Scooby was almost drooling from the nice scents that were coming out. Fred gave his name at the man in the entrance and he led them to a big table at the back of the restaurant. A waiter brought them the menu cards.

"What do you say about this Napolitana sauce special, pal?" Shaggy asked Scooby.

"Rthe prosciutto-four rcheeses rspecial too!" Scooby added.

"A fine choice, my friend!" Shaggy said, browsing the rest of the menu. Velma giggled by his side.

"What will you have, Daph?" Fred asked.

"Something vegan for tonight." She replied. "Maybe a chef's salad…"

"Would like me to order the Mediterranean pizza for me, if you want to try?"

"Oh, thank you. I'd appreciate that." Fred nodded.

Soon, the waiter was back to take their orders. "What would you like?"

Shaggy spoke first. "We'd like two Napolitana sauce special pizzas, family sized, two prosciutto-four cheeses special pizzas, family sized, one Carbonara pizza family sized, one bacon-mushroom-hot peppers pizza family sized, one ham-bacon-onions-potatoes-mushrooms pizza family sized and two sodas please." The waiter scribbled furiously. "What about you, guys?"

The waiter's eyes widened at the 'what about you, guys?' question, thinking the tall and skinny hippie that had ordered was naming everything they would have for their meal. He remained silent, though, as Fred spoke.

"I'll have a regular sized Mediterranean pizza."

"Yes, sir."

"You'll bring me a chef's salad and some mineral water." Daphne said. The waiter wrote down her order and turned to Velma.

"And a regular margherita pizza for me." The man nodded.

"Would you like some wine?"

"Do you have any fine red wine to bring us?" Fred asked.

"Of course, sir."

"Then we'll have a bottle."

"Will that be all?" The waiter asked, looking suspiciously at Shaggy.

"For now." Velma replied.

"We'll call you back for the desserts." Shaggy said, shaking his head excitedly. The man nodded in a shocked understanding and left.

"So," Fred said, patting Fred's hand, "how do you guys find Venice so far? Romantic, uh?"

"It's nice." Velma said.

"Sure," Shaggy agreed, "it's beautiful and stuff. And humid."

"Tell me about it!" Daphne said. "Makes my hair all frizzy. Dreadful."

"Your hair's perfect, Daphne." Fred commented.

"Thanks, Freddie. I try!" She giggled a bit. "So, Fred and I had a lovely gondola ride this morning. Did you try one?"

"Nah…" Velma and Shaggy said simultaneously, shrugging.

"And what did you do?"

"We visited the Murano islands; I took a look at how they make their crystals." Velma said.

"We tried some of the local deli." Shaggy added.

"I found a specialist and asked him about the sinking pace of the city." Velma went on.

"We, like, bought a mask with feathers and stuff."

"How…romantic." Daphne said, having raised an eyebrow.

"Rwe ralmost had a reatstroke!" Scooby said.

"Sure the sun isn't messing around." Velma added. "I had my SPF 50 sunblock on and still thought I'd get a sunburn."

Fred and Daphne exchanged a peculiar look and smiled to each other. Fred spoke next. "What are your plans for the summer, then?"

"We were thinking," Velma replied, "of visiting the Fjords up north."

"The Fjords?!" Daphne exclaimed. "In the middle of summer?"

"Yeah!" Shaggy said. "Why should we go there in the winter? To, like, freeze to death?"

"It's a very interesting trip." Velma argued.

"And I want to try the local fish! Heard they're so tasty… Oh, I can only, like, count the days till then." Shaggy said, with a dreamy look on his face. Velma huffed. "Of course I'll bring some back for Scoobs since he'll be visiting his family, right, pal?" Scooby nodded.

"What are your plans, guys?" Velma asked.

"We chose Santorini in the Aegean Sea. Top destination for couple holidays." Fred said. "And I want to try some scuba diving."

"Sure must be nice!" Velma commented. "I haven't ever visited the Cyclades. I've only been in Chios, researching those strange mastic trees."

"Oh, mastic!" Shaggy exclaimed.

"Roh!" Scooby echoed.

Velma grinned. "Didn't know you guys, back then. Otherwise I would have brought back some with me."

Shaggy sighed. "Doesn't matter. I can still buy some, like, mastic chewing gum."

"Yes, I know it's been imported here."

"Anyways…" Daphne said, trying to lead the conversation away from the commerce. "Did you notice how well-dressed the Italian people are?"

"I suppose." Velma said. "I bought a nice hat from St. Marco's plaza."

"I invested on some classic foulards and silk scarves." Daphne added. "The patterns were just amazing! And Freddie here bought a nice bracelet for me." She turned to the blond man and flashed him a warm smile. Fred smiled back and caressed her hand. Velma averted her eyes –she didn't feel too comfortable for some reason- and Shaggy was about to start whistling while looking around the ceiling. That moment, though, the waiter arrived, bringing Daphne's salad and Fred's and Velma's pizzas, along with the two sodas. Shaggy was looking longingly at the dishes, wondering where his and Scooby's order was. The waiter made a signal to someone further away and three other waiters approached, carrying the huge pizzas. One of them left one in front of him and Scooby, but couldn't find any place to leave the next.

"Give it to me." Shaggy said and the waiter handed him the pizza. He easily tossed it on top of the first one. "Keep it coming, boys!" He said, and the rest of the waiters handed him the pizzas, which formed a small pizza sandwich-cake. "Grazie!" The waiters left, eyeing them with pure confusion.

Velma adoringly looked at Shaggy's –and Scooby's- look of pure bliss, as they readied their forks and knives. Daphne giggled a bit. "Careful there boys," she said, grabbing some lettuce with her fork "we're at a fancy restaurant."

"Oh, that's right, Scoobs." Shaggy told Scooby. "No primitive-man-meets-bacon-for-the-first-time here, pal. We'll be, like, classy." Scooby nodded deeply and proceeded with cutting the pizza cake.

The dinner continued smoothly, with idle chatter and delicious food. By the end of their meals, Shaggy made a 'tsk' sound with his mouth.

"What kind of, like, puny human leaves the pizza crust?!" He said, taking a look at Velma's plate.

Velma shrugged, half-smiling. "A puny human that doesn't like hard crust. You can have it."

"Oh, you're, like, a gift from God!" He said and grinned widely, before claiming her pizza crust for him and Scooby. Before they got to have a bite, though, the ground shook strongly. Daphne let a small scream escape her mouth.

"Earthquake!" Fred shouted, just as the ground shook more violently. They pushed their chairs down and joined the rest of the restaurant's visitors in hiding under their table. They waited for some seconds until the earthquake stopped and they got out of under the table.

Shaggy sighed in relief. "That scared me!"

"RI don't rike rearthquakes." Scooby said, pouting.

"Relax, it's over now." Fred said.

Daphne shook some dust from her clothes and frowned, as she thought she saw a stain on her dress. The restaurant manager came running from the kitchen.

"Your attention, please!" He said, in a heavy Italian accent. "I need all of you to go outside, to be safe."

They exchanged some mutual looks and started heading outside, when another earthquake wave shook the ground, ever more strongly this time. Dust and small pieces of debris started falling from the ceiling. Shaggy, as a small rock fell right in front of his feet, contained a shriek and ran behind Velma, who managed to dodge any incoming debris pieces. Fred was quick in grabbing Daphne in his arms and running outside. Soon, they all met up safe, outside and the earthquake stopped.

The manager was yelling at the waiters, to start identifying the customers among the crowd that had gathered outside. Velma looked down and saw small cracks between the rocks that formed the narrow road and the pavement. It must have been a quite powerful earthquake.

After their waiter had found them, they offered to pay for their meals right there but he informed them that it was all on the house tonight, because of the quake, and they were all kindly requested to head to their accommodation.

"Well, that's something good, at least." Shaggy said. "Free food!"

"I just hope," Daphne said, "that the place isn't heavily damaged."

"The ceiling will need some repairing, and maybe a chair or two, but otherwise, it should be fine…" Fred estimated.

"Well, you heard the man." Velma said, wiping her glasses on her shirt, wondering how they hadn't fallen before. "Let's head back."

"Ro dessert…" Scooby mumbled complainingly.

"It's alright, buddy." Shaggy said, as they began walking. "I got some chocolate back in the room and we can, like, buy some gelato tomorrow." Scooby licked his lips. "But I need a favor."

"Ranything!"

Shaggy whispered something into Scooby's ear and he quickly ran in front, joining Fred and Daphne. Shaggy was, now, walking nervously by Velma.

"What is it, Shaggy?" Velma asked, turning to look at him. She knew something was off since he had sent Scooby off.

"Um, I… Well, I, like, want to talk about something…"

"Tell me then." She said, smiling warmly.

Shaggy turned his look on the ground, watching to have his steps inside the sidewalk crack squares. "Velma."

"Shaggy."

"Do you, like, like being with me?"

"What's that all of the sudden?" Velma asked, frowning in confusion.

"Answer me, please."

"Of course I like being with you. What got into you?"

He looked up front, seeing Fred and Daphne in a safe distance. "Maybe I'm not, like, fit to be a boyfriend." He said sadly.

"Are you stupid?"

"N-No!"

"Then what is this insecurity? Has anything happened that I don't know about?"

"I was just watching Fred and Daphne tonight and, well, I'm not, like, anything like Fred."

"And I'm not anything like Daphne. What does that have to do with us?"

"Look." He said, organizing his thoughts. "He ordered something so that Daphne could eat too. I, like, didn't even ask you if you wanted some of my pizza!"

"It's okay, I ordered my own pizza. And I know there's nothing that can get between you and your meal!"

Shaggy grinned goofily and messed with his hair. He composed his face quickly, though. "Okay, then. How about…the bracelet though? He bought her, like, such a nice gift and what have I gotten you? Some roasted corn to munch on a bench…"

"And it was very tasty, thank you very much."

"But-"

"There are no buts, Shaggy! Do I seem like caring about gifts?!"

Shaggy shrugged. "Wouldn't you like some fancy presents, though?"

"I don't really bother with presents. I have you and it's enough for me." She gave him a loving look and he blushed.

Shaggy sighed and came to his final point. "The last thing is that, I'm a…coward."

"You're a what?" Velma said angrily.

"A coward. When pieces started falling, I ran behind you, while Fred, like, snatched Daphne and-"

"Oh my God, Shaggy, stop!" Velma pleaded. "Stop comparing yourself to Fred! If I wanted Fred, I wouldn't be with you, okay?"

"Still…"

"Listen to me, love. You're not a coward. You're one of the bravest people I know!"

"Me?!"

"Of course! You are part of a monster-chasing squad and have been bait for them more times than I can remember. You're courageous and definitely not a coward."

"You…You really, like, think so?"

"Yes. And I didn't want you to protect me. I don't want a bodyguard."

"But-"

"Enough with the buts! I said, I don't have you here to be my bodyguard. You are my life companion. End of story."

"I'm, like, lucky to be your life companion."

Velma came to a halt and turned to look at him intensely. "The talk ends here. We're lucky to have each other and don't look at anybody else. They're not us, we're not them. We have our own kind of relationship, and it's perfect. At least for me…"

"And for me! It's, like, amazing!"

She stood on her tiptoes and caressed his cheek. "Then don't ever doubt yourself again."

Shaggy grabbed her from the waist and easily picked her up, kissing her strongly. She smiled into it, kissing him back, as a barely-there post-earthquake shake vibrated them lightly.

"Looks like we need to, like, go back." Shaggy said.

Velma took his hand and started walking. "Let's go back, then. I suppose you told Scooby to go stay with Fred for now?"

"Yeah…"

"Then…"Velma said, having a playful grin on her face, "let's make our bed shake, and not from the earthquake…" Shaggy giggled loudly, clutching her hand.

As they passed over an old, stone bridge over the still waters, lit by the round moon and the dozens of stars, he nudged her.

"Velma?"

"Yes?"

"I, like, love you."

"And I love you too."

***I hope you enjoyed it! It's nothing much but I certainly hope the birthday girl liked it too!**

**Please leave me a small review on how you found it and thanks for reading!***


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